US advisory panel on China backs repeal of preferential trade status

US-China Economic and Security Review Commission says the status, conferred in 2000, lets China benefit despite unfair trade practices

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An influential advisory panel has urged that the US revoke China’s preferential trade status. Image: Shutterstock

Published: 11:30pm, 19 Nov 2024Updated: 7:27am, 20 Nov 2024

Congress should repeal China’s preferential trade status, a top US advisory panel on China said on Tuesday, the first time the body has explicitly called for an end to the policy that has been a cornerstone of China’s economic rise.

Permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status “allows China to benefit from the same trade terms as US allies, despite engaging in practices such as intellectual property theft and market manipulation”, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) said in its annual report.

Revoking the status would give Washington more leverage in addressing China’s unfair trade practices, the commission said, joining a growing group of lawmakers, primarily Republicans, advocating for the move.

Congress approved the preferential status for China in 2000 in exchange for Beijing agreeing to open up its markets and liberalise its trade practices ahead of joining the World Trade Organisation.

When the US Senate passed legislation granting China permanent normal trade relation status in September 2000, it was front-page news. Photo: AFP

The status subjects China to the same baseline duties and privileges as most countries that trade with the US, in line with Washington’s WTO commitments.